Sunday, August 3, 2008

This debate took place on 6/25/2008 on the PA House floor. Rep. Sam Rohrer is the author of HB 1351, a bill to opt PA out of the Real ID program and to forbid PennDOT from building a database of PA drivers' biometric faceprints. PennDOT has been doing this since 2006 as part of a $45.5 million contract with Viisage Technologies, a subsidiary of L-1 identity solutions. This has been going on without the informed consent of most PA drivers and without the legislatures approval. Due to pressure from individuals and organizations from all over the political spectrum, HB 1351 had over 90 co-sponsors and growing by May of 2008. However, the bill was referred to the IGA Committee, whose chairman, Rep. Thomas, refused to bring the bill to a vote. Instead, he introduced HB 2537, a gutted version of 1351 which would NOT stop biometric faceprints. When that bill came to the floor for a vote, Rep. Rohrer introduced an amendment to re-insert the language pertaining to biometrics. This is the debate that ensued. That amendment lost by a narrow margin (108-92).PT 1 PA Lawmakers Debate Biometrics and Real ID on PA House Floor - Republic Media.TV | Freedom Broadcasting